"Deliver Us from the Evil One"

I once saw a bumper sticker that read, “Lead me not into temptation. . . . I can find it myself.”

That is precisely the problem. We unnecessarily put ourselves in situations where we’re vulnerable to temptation. We all know where our weaknesses are. We all know where we could easily fall.

In what is known as the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13 NKJV). We’re effectively saying to God, “Don’t put me in a place where there is more than I can handle. Lord, help me not to be tempted above my capacity to resist.”

Here’s the good news. The Bible tells us, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV). Loosely paraphrased, it means that God won’t give us more than we can take. Temptations are out there, but as much as possible, we are to steer clear of them.

We make things very difficult for ourselves when we hang out with the wrong people in the wrong places, which ultimately can lead to our doing the wrong things. Here’s the thing you need to know about temptation: it’s tempting. The devil has been tempting people for a long time, and he’s pretty adept at it.

Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. And if Jesus was tempted, then surely we will be tempted as well. Temptation will come our way. And when it does, the best place for us to be is in the will of God. The best place to be is walking with the Lord.